12 And he said, There is no more joy for you, O crushed virgin daughter of Zidon: up! go over to Kittim; even there you will have no rest.
And the voice of players and makers of music will never again be sounding in you: and no worker, expert in art, will ever again be living in you; and there will be no sound of the crushing of grain any more at all in you;
I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your instruments of music will be gone for ever. I will make you an uncovered rock: you will be a place for the stretching out of nets; there will be no building you up again: for I the Lord have said it, says the Lord.
The word about Tyre. Let a cry of sorrow go up, O ships of Tarshish, because your strong place is made waste; on the way back from the land of Kittim the news is given to them. Send out a cry of grief, you men of the sea-land, traders of Zidon, who go over the sea, whose representatives are on great waters;
Go up to Gilead and take sweet oil, O virgin daughter of Egypt: there is no help in all your medical arts; nothing will make you well.
Away! unclean! they were crying out to them, Away! away! let there be no touching: when they went away in flight and wandering, men said among the nations, There is no further resting-place for them.
The Lord has made sport of all my men of war in me, he has got men together against me to send destruction on my young men: the virgin daughter of Judah has been crushed like grapes under the feet of the Lord.
And Canaan was the father of Zidon, who was his oldest son, and Heth, And the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite, And the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite, And the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; after that the families of the Canaanites went far and wide in all directions; Their country stretching from Zidon to Gaza, in the direction of Gerar; and to Lasha, in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim.
And you are to say this word to them, Let my eyes be streaming with water night and day, and let it not be stopped; for the virgin daughter of my people is wounded with a great wound, with a very bitter blow.
This is the word which the Lord has said about him: In the eyes of the virgin daughter of Zion you are shamed and laughed at; the daughter of Jerusalem has made sport of you.
Is this the town which was full of joy, whose start goes back to times long past, whose wanderings took her into far-off countries?
And the Lord will send you wandering among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other: there you will be servants to other gods, of wood and stone, gods of which you and your fathers had no knowledge. And even among these nations there will be no peace for you, and no rest for your feet: but the Lord will give you there a shaking heart and wasting eyes and weariness of soul: Your very life will be hanging in doubt before you, and day and night will be dark with fears, and nothing in life will be certain: In the morning you will say, If only it was evening! And at evening you will say, If only morning would come! Because of the fear in your hearts and the things which your eyes will see.
But ships will come from the direction of Kittim, troubling Asshur and troubling Eber, and like the others their fate will be destruction.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 23
Commentary on Isaiah 23 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 23
This chapter is concerning Tyre, an ancient wealthy city, situated upon the sea, and for many ages one of the most celebrated cities for trade and merchandise in those parts of the world. The lot of the tribe of Asher bordered upon it. See Joshua 19:29, where it is called "the strong city Tyre.' We seldom find it a dangerous enemy to Israel, but sometimes their faithful ally, as in the reigns of David and Solomon; for trading cities maintain their grandeur, not by the conquest of their neighbours, but by commerce with them. In this chapter is foretold,
Isa 23:1-14
Tyre being a sea-port town, this prophecy of its overthrow fitly begins and ends with, Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for all its business, wealth, and honour, depended upon its shipping; if that be ruined, they will be all undone. Observe,
Isa 23:15-18
Here is,